Reusable shoe shield equipped with a zipper with a back pocket and seasoned grooves

ABSTRACT

A reusable, elastic shoe shield for protecting formal shoes from being stained by contaminants such as dirt, grass and mud is provided. The shoe shield is made of flexible, resilient and elastic material. The shoe shield has an upper portion and a sole portion. A zipper with a back pocket is provided on the front portion of the upper portion. The upper portion and the sole portion are sealed by a heat sealing method. Pluralities of grooves seasoned on the sole portion vertically against the long axis of the shield enables the shoe shield to roll up, compacting into a pocket size.

The present invention generally relates to a shoe shield.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For a place where formal attire is necessary, one also wears formalshoes. For example, take an outdoor wedding. If the attendees walk inthe grass or dirt, it will soil their shoes. A similar situation occursat social garden parties, funerals, and church services held outdoors.Most shoe covers introduced until now have been disposable. However,making a shoe shield durable for heavy duty use and/or narrow high-heelsoles is almost impossible when attempting to meet the price necessaryto sell a disposable one. One of the purposes of this invention is toprovide a shoe shield which is both durable and easy to store for reuse.Materials are developed for flexibility, resiliency and elasticity.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention specifically relates to a reusable shoe shieldprepared for compact packing by means of rolling up the shield along theseasoned grooves developed on the bottom sole and upper portions of theshield.

2. Description of the Prior Art

U.S. Pat. No. 1,603,923 to Powers Jr. illustrates an overshoe forladies' shoes made of rubber and sock shape which is partly wearable ona shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 2,171,654 to Hincliff et al. illustrates aprotector for shoes which has a hole for rear heel of ladies' shoes.U.S. Pat. No. 2,479,006 to Garth illustrates an overshoe made of vinylmaterial and equipped with a zipper. U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,459 to Colmanillustrates a lint-free shoe cover made of non-resilient 200 denier to300 denier threads. U.S. Pat. No. 3,141,247 to Mackay illustrates adecorative shoe covering for ladies' shoes made of multi-layereddifferent materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,421 to Liebmann et al.illustrates a decorative cover for ladies' shoes.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,291 to Moore et al. illustrates a disposable footcovering comprised of a film or sheet material marginally sealedtogether. U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,954 to Larsen et al. illustrates adisposable shoe covering made of heat shrink film. U.S. Pat. No.4,083,124 to Michalak illustrates a protective shoe covering of a singlepiece of flexible material having an upper section and heel, toe andsole covering portions with an opening in its upper section.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,491 to Plotkin illustrates a disposable overshoehaving a plurality of foldlines for packing the overshoe into a compactcontainer.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,759 to Mascotte illustrates a shoe covering membercomprised of a covering member having a shape of an upper section of ashoe and a bottom member which is sealingly engaged with a sole of theshoe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,313 to Dowdy, et al. illustrates a slipperytype article composed of a hydrophobic material such as rip stop nylon.This aids the entry and withdrawal of a foot through the narrow legopenings of wet suits, dry suits and wet suit booties. U.S. Pat. No.5,396,717 to Bell illustrates a convertible overshoe for disposition onone primary shoe and being convertible for disposition on a largerprimary shoe. Each of said primary shoes has an outer surface.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,704 to March illustrates a disposable, elastic shoecover for protecting shoes against inclement weather conditions andsharp or abrasive objects. The shoe cover material may be translucentand does not significantly detract from the aesthetic appearance of theshoe. The elasticity of the material allows the shoe cover to hug theshoe to minimize slipping between the shoe and the shoe cover. The shoecover has a front portion, a rear portion and a sole portion. The shoecover comes pre-disposed in folded or rolled form and associatedpackaging which allows for convenient transport or storage of the shoecover. The shoe cover may be pulled onto a shoe or may be in partunrolled directly onto the shoe.

None of the prior art shows a re-usable shoe cover that is easy toroll-up compactly into a pocket size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The re-usable shoe cover of the current invention includes a soleportion and an upper portion. The shoe shield is comprised of a materialthat is flexible, elastic, and waterproof. The transparency of the shoeshield is easily controlled from transparent to opaque by adding propermaster batches containing coloring agents. Bottom of the upper portionis sealed on the sole along the perimeter. A zipper with a back pocketis attached between the front part of the upper portion and the openingportion of the shoe shield. Pluralities of grooves are developed on thebottom surface of the sole with seasoned intervals,increasing/decreasing from the heel side of the sole. Such seasonedintervals enable an easy rolling up of the shoe shield into a smallpocket size. The zipper with back pocket may be attached to variouspositions on one of the sides. The back pocket of the zipper preventswater and dusts from getting inside of the shoe shield through theopenings between the teeth of the zipper. The zipper with back pocketprevents the jamming of the fastening string of the shoe inside thereofand allows easy access of feet of different shapes such as wide toeportion, high instep, and other different types of feet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an expanded perspective view of a re-usable shoe shield inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged drawing of the zipper on the front part of theshoe shield when it is open.

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of the zipper and back pocket blockingmoisture from the shoe inside.

FIG. 4-a is a schematic drawing that shows how a fastening string of ashoe inside is jammed between the zipper.

FIG. 4-b is a schematic drawing that shows how the back pocket of thezipper prevents a fastening string of a shoe inside from being jammedbetween the zippers.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the sole of the shoe shield in accordancewith the invention.

FIG. 6-a is a schematic drawing of the side view of a shoe shield withfixed distance of grooves and when it is rolled up.

FIG. 6-b is a schematic drawing of side view of a shoe shield withseasoned distance of grooves when it is rolled up.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an expanded perspective view of a re-usable shoe shield (1) inaccordance with the invention. The shoe shield (1) is comprised of asole (2), an upper portion (3), and a zipper (4) with a back pocket (5).Bottom (3-1) of the upper portion (3) is sealed on the sole (2) alongthe perimeter (2-1) by heat sealing method. A zipper (4) with backpocket (5) is attached between the front part of the upper portion andopening portion of the shoe shield (1). A re-usable shoe shield (1) ofthe current invention is comprised of a material that is flexible,elastic, waterproof, and which is of a size and shape as to be retainedresiliently on a shoe. The material is comprised of, including but notlimited, mixtures of flexible grade PVC (polyvinyl chloride),Polyurethane, EPR(Ethylene-Propylene Rubber), SBR (Styrene-ButylRubber), Nylon 66, VLDPE (Very Low Density Poly Ethylene), and EP(D)M(Copolymer of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer). The transparency of theshoe shield is (1) easily controlled from transparent to opaque byadding proper master batches containing coloring agents such as carbonblack. The materials for the upper portion and sole may be different.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged drawing of the zipper (4) on the front part of theshoe shield (1) when it is open. The zipper (4), in accordance with theinvention, has a back pocket (5). The side sheet (4-2) of the zipper (4)and the back pocket (5) are sealed to the upper portion (3) along theperimeters (4-1) of the side sheet (4-2) of the zipper (4). The zipper(4) can be made of solid material such as Aluminum, Brass, Nylon and PVC(Poly Vinyl Chloride).

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of the zipper (4) and back pocket (5)blocking moistures (6) from the shoe inside (7). The roles of the backpocket (5) of the zipper (4) are as follows. When the ground is wet,moisture or fine water droplets (6) can permeate into the shield (1)through the voids (4-3) between the teeth (4-4) of the zipper (4). Theback pocket (5) retains the moisture or water drops (6) penetrated inthe pocket and keeps the shoe (7), inside of the shield (1), dry.

FIG. 4-a and FIG. 4-b are additional schematic drawings of the zipper(4) and back pocket (5) to show the mechanism of preventing jamming ofthe shoestrings (8). Many shoes have fastening strings to controlfitting of a shoe to the wearer's foot. If the zipper (4) is notsupported by a back pocket as shown in the FIG. 4-a, the fasteningstring (8) of the shoe (7) inside of the shoe shield (1) would be easilyjammed between the teeth of the zipper (4). However, if the zipper (4)is provided with a back pocket, the fastening string (8) of the shoe (7)inside of the shield (1) lays below the back pocket (5). Therefore,there is no possibility of the shoestring (8) being jammed between theteeth of the zipper (4).

Because of the back pocket (5) of the zipper (4), it is possible for aperson of high instep to open the zipper (4) and wear the shoe shield(1) without exposing the shoe (7) inside the shoe shield (1). The backpocket also prevents scratching of the shoe (7) by the zipper (4).

The zipper (4) with back pocket (5) can be attached any portion of thesides (3) which comprises an upper portion as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the sole (2) of the shoe shield (1) inaccordance with the invention. Pluralities of grooves (9) are developedon the bottom surface of the sole (2) perpendicular to the long axis ofthe sole (2). The distances (10) between each grooves (9) are seasonedas narrow at the heel side (2-2) and increases as closer to the toe side(2-3). Reverse seasoning is also possible.

FIG. 6-a is a schematic drawing of side view of a shoe shield (1) withfixed distance (10) of grooves (9) when it is rolled up. And FIG. 6-b isa schematic drawing of side view of a shoe shield (1) with seasoneddistance (10) of grooves (9) when it is rolled up. Whatever the depth(11) of the groove, it takes space when it is rolled up in a smallspace. As shown in FIG. 6-a, when the distances (10) are fixed, thegrooves (9) form space (11) between the sole (2) surface when the sole(2) is rolled up. If the distances (10) are seasoned, and there isenough distance, the sole (2) surface can contact directly to the nextsole (2) surface of the next role. As a result the thickness (12) of therolled up shoe shield (2) of the seasoned groove distance (10) issmaller than that of the non seasoned groove distance (10) shoe shield.

1. A re-usable shoe shield, which is comprised of a sole made of flexible plastic sheet provided with pluralities of grooves developed on the bottom surface of the sole perpendicular to the long axis, an upper portion made of one piece of flexible plastic sheet, and a zipper with a back pocket attached on the front part of the upper portion.
 2. The re-usable shoe shield of claim 1, wherein the distance between the grooves, developed on the bottom surface of the sole, gradually increases from the heel portion of the sole.
 3. The re-usable shoe shield of claim 1, wherein the Zipper with a back pocket are sealed to the sides by a heat sealing method. 